Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) with teammate Darrell Arthur (00) gets fouled on the way to the basket by Memphis Grizzlies forward Ed Davis, left, with help by Kosta Koufos (41) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 4, 2014, in Memphis, Tenn.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — His left foot so swollen it looked “like there’s water in it” he would later say, Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson winced his way through his final tape job of the night.

It was to protect a badly sprained left ankle, the latest in a devastating season of injuries for the Nuggets. A boot was placed over the tape. That is how Lawson walked out of the FedEx Forum late Friday night.

Earlier, he left the Nuggets’ fifth consecutive road loss, 100-92 to the Grizzlies, during the fourth quarter after rolling his ankle and then jumping off it while it was sideways going up for a layup.

“It’s a normal sprain, but this is probably the worst one I’ve had,” Lawson said. “Hopefully a couple of days I’ll be back right, get the swelling down.”

It’s safe to say the Nuggets will play it extremely cautious with their floor leader. No need to push him to return quickly in a season two weeks from its end. The Nuggets have gotten accustomed to playing without key players this season, and they will forge ahead with whomever is available that night.

Lawson had been playing one of his better games in the last couple of weeks when he suffered the injury, limping off the court with 16 points and three assists in 32 minutes.

“He was really attacking and we saw that burst of speed,” Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. “That’s what he can do when he feels like doing it, and it’s obviously great for our team that he comes out and sets the tone.”

The Nuggets wanted some revenge after losing Monday to the Grizzlies in Denver. They came close, but didn’t get it. The Grizzlies needed the win to keep their playoff hopes alive and got it with an energy-filled fourth quarter.

“It was kind of an ugly game,” Shaw said.

The Memphis inside duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph was just too potent. And too punishing. They combined for 44 points, 20 rebounds and four blocked shots.

“They’re both tough players,” said Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur, a former teammate of Gasol’s and Randolph’s. “It’s going to be a battle for any team that’s guarding those guys. They get a lot of touches, they’re physical and you have to do a good job of boxing them out.”

But the Grizzlies needed big efforts from all of their starters to get it done. Their starting five scored all but 13 of the total. The Nuggets received good efforts from both starters and reserves, but it should be taken into account that Lawson was one of those reserves. He did not start after missing a morning team meeting.

Randy Foye led the Nuggets with 21 points. Kenneth Faried had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

“I still commend our guys,” Shaw said. “They fought until the very end. And Ty — that just unfortunately has been the story of our season. We just have to keep continuing to fight and finish this thing out.”

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.